Prosecutors: Man, 80, harassed victim he shot in 1989, again in 2011

Walter Wilson, 80, is charged with harassing a witness he's accused of shooting in 2011--more than 20 years after he was convicted of shooting her in 1989.

Walter Wilson, 80, is charged with harassing a witness he's accused of shooting in 2011--more than 20 years after he was convicted of shooting her in 1989. (Chicago Police photo)

Jennifer DelgadoTribune reporter

Awaiting trial on a 2011 attempted murder charge, 80-year-old Walter Wilson decided to take matters into his own hands before the court system could decide his fate, Cook County prosecutors said Sunday.

So Wilson called the victim -- the same woman he shot in 1989 -- more than 25 times and told her to drop the charges despite a court order prohibiting him from contacting her, prosecutors said. She refused, so he said he would “get everybody that's involved,” according to police reports.

On Sunday, Judge Israel Desierto ordered Wilson, a retired sheet-metal worker who turns 81 next week, held in lieu of $250,000 bail.

The bespectacled octogenarian appeared in front of the judge with a plastic bag of clothes and a coat in his hands as prosecutors detailed his felony charges -- harassing a witness, unlawful communication and violating an order of protection.

Wilson, of Chicago's Gresham neighborhood, was found guilty of aggravated battery and burglary after he shot the woman, with whom he had a child, in 1989, according to prosecutors. He was sentenced to four years of probation, prosecutors said.

Wilson, of the 8700 block of South Bishop Street, is accused of shooting the same woman, now 54, about 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2011, at hair salon where she worked in the 6200 block of South Western Avenue, according to police records.

Shortly after, Wilson was served with an order of protection that warned him to stay away from her, police reports state.

But he didn't listen and called the woman this year between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20, police said. The woman told officers she was in fear for her life after Wilson threatened to harm her for not dropping the charges, according police reports.

Wilson, who, according to court records, suffers from colon and prostate cancer, was arrested Saturday at his home. He allegedly told Chicago police officers that he knew a court order prohibited him from contacting the woman, prosecutors said.

No date has been set for the 2011 attempted murder trial, prosecutors said.